..because detroit became a rapidly economically depressed city that still has not recoverd to this day...everyone has practically left detroit...the downtown area where chin's was located has been a ghostown for the most part....no people = no one to spend money = no more chin tiki.

in fact, not too long ago, detroit was the murder capital of the nation (this title changes cities every couple years though)

Went by the old palce over the weekend. They have fencing all around it. I plan to keep a eye on it. I would like to have a piece of the A frame peak for my office or one of the torches of the sign. It realy is sad that they couldnt have given it a go. We destroy all our history in Detroit. I feel some of the old Auto Plants that have just crumbled should be made Historical sites. m

It's really quite sad how bad Detroit has gotten. You see the old pictures and hear the old stories and it really was quite something. My parents like to tell stories of their dates in downtown Detroit (including some of the tiki hot spots although they never really got into it much more then downing way too many drinks and then driving home). I was born just outside of the city and when i was last in Michigan, I'd drive miles out of my way so i wouldn't even have to go through Detroit.

Well, I'm very sad to report this, but the Chin Tiki is being completely torn down right now as I write this. Demo crews came in yesterday I'm told and it will be gone completely by tomorrow. No chance to save anything. Very sad day for me. Detroit is my hometown and it kills me to see the whole city going down the way it is.
_________________

On 2009-03-06 10:47, Chub wrote:Well, I'm very sad to report this, but the Chin Tiki is being completely torn down right now as I write this. Demo crews came in yesterday I'm told and it will be gone completely by tomorrow. No chance to save anything. Very sad day for me. Detroit is my hometown and it kills me to see the whole city going down the way it is.

save yer tears for the tonga room....anything worth a damn in chin tiki was salvaged by the owners and either put into storage or placed in the chin tiki's second location in livonia....fear not....tiki has been saved, even though the temple itself went under the wrecking ball.....personally, i was in the old chins years ago before they tore it down..it was dirty and dissapointing....you didn't miss much...

You're actually wrong on this Tipsy. Reports from peeps on the seen in Detroit today are that there are still lots of furniture and even pictures on the walls as it's being demoed. The building was stable. Yes it could have used a good scrubbing, but it WAS stable. This is a big loss.
_________________

On 2009-03-06 12:36, Chub wrote:You're actually wrong on this Tipsy. Reports from peeps on the seen in Detroit today are that there are still lots of furniture and even pictures on the walls as it's being demoed. The building was stable. Yes it could have used a good scrubbing, but it WAS stable. This is a big loss.

from what my sources tell me..any pictures and furniture left behind was just run-of-the-mill crap....stuff like old booths, chairs, crappy landscape paintings and what not....i am assured there was no witco left behind...no signifigant masks or wall decor left behind.....i find it hard to believe that the chin's would go to such lengths as to remove a portion of the old bar and reinstall it in the other location and then leave good useful decor behind....i'm not buying it...i want proof.

and stable or not, detroit is a ghost town...how could anyone expect to make any money by reopening chins?? ..if it were feasible i'm sure it would have happened but detroit was already in disarray and the economy was the final nail in the coffin...the chin's were lucky to get out when they did otherwise they would really be screwed.....

..sitting immediatly to my right is my hat....and i am prepared to eat it...if you prove me wrong.

Tiz Tiz, Dave, where is your spirit of urban archeology, the sense of mystery of buried civilizations? We are here not to speak ill of the dead, but sing the glory of Tiki havens of the past, so that their stories will be told for generations to come!

TIKI MODERN, CHAPTER 7: THE TIKI AND ITS TEMPLES
“In the midst of desolation and ruin we looked back to the past, cleared away the gloomy forest, and fancied every building perfect, with its terraces and pyramids, its sculptured and painted ornaments, grand, lofty, and imposing”

And now a moment of silence for the CHIN TIKI, please:

Back in the day:

And photographed in 2007:

Entering the tomb of the Chin Tiki (2007):

Some of its treasures:

(Now before anybody gets a heart attack, all this decor HAS been removed since)

okay, you're right, i should have more reverance for the bygone palaces, but i still feel that if an old tiki temple still has their doors open, those are the ones we need to focus our energy on and support (chin tiki detroit has been closed for years...no amount of whining was ever going to save it )....i know you'll agree......and as for future generations...i think your books just about cover it.....that and google. so if any one really needs to know about chin tiki in the future, they can buy your book or look it up online.....